


Strangers at home

by JustAGirlWhoTriesToWrite



Category: Something Rotten! - Kirkpatrick/Kirkpatrick/O'Farrell
Genre: Castle AU, F/M, Major AU, Will might not even make an appearance, also, as of right now no archive warnings apply but that may change and I will edit accordingly, look this is my first time using ao3 so idk how this works, the main ship is Thomas/OC, the rest are on the side
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-31
Updated: 2016-08-12
Packaged: 2018-07-28 11:38:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7638757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAGirlWhoTriesToWrite/pseuds/JustAGirlWhoTriesToWrite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The stolen son of Jeremiah Brooks is returned to his home just after his 18th birthday. No one recognizes him, no one trusts him--And somehow, he's still expected to take over as king when his father eventually passes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

The kingdom of Puritia had always been a large and powerful kingdom, stretching across the entire continent, with many Lords and Ladies int their own castles to enforce the laws of the land, which were written according to their religious texts and very, very strict.

One of the lords in one of these castles was Jeremiah Brooks. He was one of the best enforcers, and rarely had any trouble in his kingdom.

That is, until he fell in love.

* * *

 

Her name was Elizabeth. She wasn’t royal, or even upper class. She ran a bookshop with her father, and often managed to put illegal works on the shelves right under the nose of the law.

When he found out, he didn’t punish her. He wasn’t a bad person, really. He just didn’t know better.

He started visiting more often, though. She would visit him too. They spent more and more time together, against warnings from the castle. Then she got pregnant. The castle was definitely not pleased with that. They threatened to revoke Jeremiah’s lordship. Having a child out of wedlock was a major sin in the eyes of the crown and god. They got married, which sort of helped alleviate the pressure they put on him, but the crown insisted that they follow the tradition of sending their firstborn so to e raised at the castle to train for his future Lordship. Elizabeth hated that idea…and convinced him to revolt.

* * *

 

It was surprisingly easy to build up an army. It turned out many of his citizens and those from neighboring regions were unhappy with the laws too.

After 3 years of fighting, they won...but barely. The crown decided to try and negotiate a peace rather than wipe them out. Jeremiah could create his own kingdom using what land was originally in his jurisdiction, but he still had to raise his son at their castle, as an insurance of sorts. He’d be returned when he turned 18.

In the midst of these negotiations, they had their second child, a girl named Portia. There were complications, probably from stress, but as long as she didn’t strain herself, she’d recover.

Elizabeth begged Jeremiah not to let them take Thomas, she said that they could last a few more months, but he knew they wouldn’t. Their troops were tired, and they were running out of supplies…he agreed to their terms.

* * *

 

Elizabeth did talk to him for a week after they took Thomas. Even after she did find it in her heart to start to forgive him, the grief was too much after the complications with Portia’s birth, and she passed away when Portia was only a month old.

Jeremiah did his best to raise Portia, and keep in touch with Thomas, and run his new kingdom, but eventually his contact with Thomas dwindled to just a letter and gift on his birthday.

* * *

 

When Portia was old enough she would write him, but it wasn’t the same.

* * *

 

The day after his 18th birthday, Thomas was returned to Jeremiah’s castle.


	2. Home, sweet home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas arrives at Jeremiah's castle, and gets a brief introduction to his father and sister before deciding he hates everything.

It stormed for the entire trip from the main castle in Puritia to Jeremiah’s castle. Everyone, even Thomas, took that as a bad sign, but a treaty was a treaty, and they didn’t necessarily want to get into another war just yet.

The rain didn’t disappear until they reached their destination, which was only after enough problems with mud and flooding that they were almost a whole week late. Everyone was tired and irritable, which didn’t exactly help fix the reputation of Puritan Nobles (that reputation being that they were all pretentious assholes).

No one was particularly excited to have Thomas back, besides Portia (and Jeremiah, though he didn't really show it). Thomas may be one of them by blood, but he’d been raised as a Puritan, and they had no love for Puritans.

* * *

 

When Thomas and his entourage finally reached the main castle, they were immediately escorted to the throne room, where Jeremiah and Portia (now 15 years old) were waiting.

There was an excruciatingly long, tense silence before anyone spoke, though it was obvious that Portia was itching to from the way she was fidgeting in her place beside Jeremiah at the throne.

“Thomas. It’s good to finally have you home,” Jeremiah said, his voice not quite portraying the sentiment that the statement implied. Not that Jeremiah wasn’t happy to see his son, but…they weren’t exactly on the best of terms.

“…Father,” the word sounded foreign on Thomas’ tongue. “It is…good to finally be…home.” This place was anything but, and his tone showed it.

Portia was unable to control herself any longer, and ran at Thomas, wrapping her arms around him and hugging tight, giving her brother no choice but to awkwardly hug her back. He wasn’t used to hugs, or any kind of physical affection for that matter. They weren’t big on that in Puritia.

“I’m glad you’re finally here,” she whispered excitedly, smiling up at him with eyes stinging with thousands of untold stories, either not noticing or not minding the awkwardness of his embrace. “I’ve missed you. So, so, so much."

“And I you, Portia,” he said, sounding a bit more sincere this time. He had enjoyed his written correspondence with Portia immensely. But, still, he was tense. This was so informal... None of the Puritan princesses ever acted like this in front of people.

“I’ll show you your room, if dad doesn’t need you for anything,” she said, pulling away just a little. “It’s just down the hall from mine! It’ll be like you were never gone!”

“Of course…” That one was less sincere. Nothing could make up for those 18 years.

Jeremiah could never say no to Portia, of course, so he sighed and waved her out. “Go on. We can discuss things after you’ve settled in.”

“Yay! Come on, come on, come on!” She started tugging him out before he could even say anything. “Let’s get you settled in! Dad can discuss the boring stuff with those other guys.” Thomas had no choice but to stumble along after her, glancing back at his entourage with the slightest hint of nerves, before remembering he couldn’t rely on them anymore and looking back to his sister.

* * *

 

She gave his a brief tour of the rooms they passed on their way up to his suite, making sure to point out that hers was right down the hall and she was always available if he needed anything to help him settle in. He didn’t even get an official tour?

“I-I know this has to be hard for you, leaving your ho—The place you were raised, and all,” she said quietly, once they were alone in his room. “But—But you’ll love it here. I promise. It’s not a bad castle, once you get used to it. A-and dad loves you. He acts a little distant sometimes, but I know he’s been waiting a long time for this day.” She kissed his cheek, and started to leave. “I’ll let you get settled…And I’ll have them send dinner up here in a few hours. Don’t worry about sitting through a family meal just yet.” Then she was gone, without letting him say a word. Whatever. He could ask questions later… He took this chance to look around the room.

It was a nice sized suite, with a few colorful tapestries on the wall and rugs on the floor. He took the tapestries down. Being tdoo comfortable was a sin, and the tapestries made the room feel comfortable. But, of course, they wouldn’t care about that here.

The bed was large, with deep blue curtains around it, and it looked soft enough. No wonder most of Purita hated these people. His entourage brought up his luggage, then it was time for goodbyes.

They weren’t hard to make. He wasn’t particularly attached to any of them…Sure, he’d grown up with them, but it wasn't exactly the most affectionate place to be raised. Once they left, he started unpacking his things, placing his clothes in the large wooden wardrobe. The room really wasn’t too different from what he was used to. Honestly, it was a little homier. But that in itself was unsettling to him.

He was so caught up in what he was doing he hardly noticed the servant leaving his dinner tray and leaving. He finally did, though, and was unimpressed by the caliber of the food. It was all overcooked to the point of being a charred mess or raw enough he could practically see it moving. Couldn’t this darn castle do anything properly? There had been no proper introduction to the royal family, no official tour, no one came up to help him unpack, and now the food was inedible! He had half a mind to go down to the kitchen and confront the chef himself…Except he didn’t know where the kitchen was because he hadn’t had a tour yet! Great! This was _great_!

He didn’t think he’d be able to survive here for a week, much less the rest of his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to nickybottom for proofreading!

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Thanks for reading this far!
> 
> In case you didn't read my rambling tags: 
> 
> Thomas Brooks/OC is going to be the main focus of this story. If you came looking for some intense Nick/Bea or Nigel/Portia action, I'm sorry, this story isn't for you.
> 
> Will Shakespeare may not be in this story. As of right now I have no use for him, but that may change. But for now, don't count on it.
> 
> Feel free to leave bad reviews. Flame if you want. I don't give a shit. If leaving a review insulting me and my writing will make you feel better, go for it. I don't write for praise.
> 
> That being said, I will accept constructive criticism with open arms. I haven't seriously written non-school stuff in years, I could probably use some help.


End file.
